


I Missed You

by whooshboomtree



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman Zero | Mega Man Zero
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Pre-MMZ2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 21:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2323013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whooshboomtree/pseuds/whooshboomtree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zero didn't expect to have to have his ass saved from the Pantheons that day, much less by someone he hadn't seen in so long. He also didn't expect that he'd feel so torn about leaving his old friend behind when all was said and done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Missed You

A green blade flashed through the air, slicing effortlessly through blue metal and mechanics and tubing and sending out a spray of dark vital fluid.

The weapon’s wielder took in a heavy breath as the motion sent a stab of pain up his arm.  He had been fighting on his own like this for a long time- six months.  Or was it seven?  He lost track a while ago.  It didn’t seem to matter any more.

He hadn’t taken the time to stop and recharge in days.  Part of him knew that he couldn’t keep fighting like this forever, but the Pantheons wouldn’t afford him a moment of peace.

He turned sharply on his heel and cut three more down, sending another jolt of pain through his shoulder and nearly causing him to drop his saber.  As he reached for his gun, the moment of distraction was just long enough for a Pantheon to slam an electrified staff into his side.

A cry of pain escaped him, and the next thing he felt was the hard-packed dirt floor of the desert meeting his cheek.  He rolled to the side, dodging a plasma shot more by luck than reaction, only to find a second blaster pointed at his head.

“Zero!  Watch out!”

The voice barely registered as Zero struggled to push himself up, blinding pain stabbing through the shoulder that he was fairly certain had been dislocated by his rough landing, and mere moments later a kick to the side of the head slammed him back to the ground.  “Got . . . verdammt . . .” he groaned out.  Fighting to cling to consciousness as he was, all he could do was close his eyes and brace himself for the expected incoming hot plasma.

Gunfire rattled around him, followed shortly by the clank of lifeless metal bodies crashing to the ground.  Then, it was quiet.

Quiet?  He hadn’t heart quiet like this in days.  Stifling a groan of pain, Zero forced his heavy eyes open.  He could make out the Pantheons scattered all around him, or at least what was left of their bullet-ridden bodies.  “Wh . . . who . . . ?”

Through his rapidly-blurring optics, he could just barely make out a man with a gun picking his way through the piles of scrap.  Zero opened his mouth to issue a challenge, but before he could so much as lift his head, his last bit of strength left him, and he lapsed into unconsciousness.

 

***

 

When he awoke, the first thing he was aware of was the soft cushion under his neck.  He opened his eyes slowly, secretly relieved that the pain in his shoulder had faded to a dull throb, and that wherever he was, there wasn’t enough light to make his pounding headache any worse.

He didn’t try to sit up right away, instead gazing around the room and trying to take in where he was.  The space was small, though not uncomfortably so, and he could see both his saber and his gun set out neatly on the floor next to the couch he was laying on.

“You’re awake.”

Zero jerked his head around sharply and tried to sit up, hissing softly when the movement sent a sharp pain through his neck.  “Easy, easy!” the speaker assured, stepping out of the adjacent room and holding up his hands submissively.  “It’s just me.”

He blinked, vaguely recognizing the man with the gun whom he had seen just prior to passing out.  He wasn’t a man, but a Reploid with navy-blue armor and spiky auburn hair.  He had a lean body not unlike that of a teenager, and his green eyes, framed by an X-shaped scar, had a teasing light to them.  “You . . . saved me,” Zero said slowly.

“A’course I did.”  The Reploid pulled up a chair alongside the couch and sat down, holding out a mug of some kind of warm, steaming liquid.  “Here,” he offered.  “Hot lithium.  It’ll help recharge your systems.”

Zero pushed himself into a sitting position to take the mug, his movements still slow and hesitant, as if he was still wary of the other Reploid.  “How do you know my name?” he rasped, coughing to clear his dry throat.  “And why did you save me?”

“ _Duh_.  You’re my best friend; why wouldn’t I save you?”

Zero squinted in confusion.

The teenage Reploid blinked, some of the glow leaving his eyes as his face fell slightly.  “Don’t . . . don’t you remember?”

“I . . .”  Zero shook his head slowly.  “I’ve been asleep for a long time.  Hibernation sickness.  I don’t . . . remember everything just yet.”

“But . . .”  The Reploid placed a hand on Zero’s arm, causing him to tense.  “Easy, Zero, I’m not gonna hurt you.  It’s me- your friend.  _Axl_.”

“Axl?”  Zero’s brow furrowed slightly as he groped for his fleeting memories of the name.  A destroyed highway, the crack of a pistol, a cocky smirk and bright, cheerful laughter . . .

Axl smiled sadly.  “It . . . it’s okay,” he murmured.  “You don’t have to remember.  Drink.  It’ll make you feel better.”  He stood up and went into the small, adjacent kitchen, tossing back a call of, “How’s your shoulder?”

“A bit sore,” Zero replied after taking a sip of his drink.

“I’m not surprised,” Axl said, returning to sit back down at Zero’s side with a second mug of lithium in his hands.  “You smashed it right out of its socket.”

“I figured as much.  Did you . . . fix me?”

Axl took a long drink.  “Best as I could without any feedback from my patient.  I’ve been doing repairs on myself for so long that it’s become second nature.”

“You did a good job,” Zero said, flexing his shoulder experimentally.  “Where are we?”

“Abandoned studio flat,” Axl said with a shrug.  “Since the Maverick Hunters disbanded and X . . . left . . . I’ve gone back to my roots as a vigilante.  This place is small, but it’s home.  Sorta.”

Zero took another sip of his lithium, finding that it eased the pain in his shoulder somewhat.  “Vigilante?” he echoed.

“Yep.”  The sad smile was back on Axl’s face, and he was gazing at his cup as though lost in thought.  “I’ve never exactly been seen as hero material.  Not like you and X.  People remember ‘Axl the prototype’, or ‘that kid with the gun’, not ‘Axl the hero’.  Still . . .”  He drew a soft sigh.  “It’s been lonely without you guys.”

Zero slowly sat up and set his empty mug aside, lips twitching in a small, almost concerned frown.  “I’m sorry to hear that, Axl.  But don’t forget, you saved me.  That’s an act of heroism.”  He reached down to pick up his saber.  “I should go.  The fight isn’t over.”

“Ohhhhh no you don’t.”  Axl batted Zero’s hand away from the weapon with one light swat, a little gleam of good humor beginning to overtake the tired wistfulness in his eyes again.  “You’re in no shape to fight right now; just look at yourself.  You’re not going _anywhere_ without _my_ say-so.”

“Axl . . .”  Somehow, the scolding sounded familiar.  Had X ever said something similar to him?  Or . . . had he, himself, spoken those words to X?  Or to Axl, for that matter?  “Don’t patronize me.  I’m fine.”  He stood up, reaching for his saber once again.

Axl’s foot shot out in a low sweep, taking Zero’s legs out from underneath him, and almost as soon as he hit the ground, a heavy weight settled down on his back to pin him down.  “Ow- hey!  What was that for?!” he grunted, twisting his head around to glare up at the spiky-haired Reploid.

His complaint was met by a playful, knowing grin and a pair of warm green eyes that practically sparkled with amusement.  “Zero.”  Axl stifled a laugh.  “If an old man like me can pin you like this, whaddaya think a gang of twenty or thirty drones are gonna do?”  He slowly got to his feet, his joints rasping faintly as he moved.

Zero merely responded with a dissatisfied grumble and pushed himself into a sitting position.  “Now lie down and rest,” Axl chuckled.  “I’ll keep an eye on things for a while.  And don’t go trying to sneak off or I’ll drag your ass right back here and tie you down!”

“All right, all right.  No need to get pushy.”  Zero settled himself onto the couch and laid his head back.

“I’m glad to see you, Zero,” Axl murmured, picking up the empty mug from the floor and offering the blond a gentle smile.  “Relax and get some rest for a little while, okay?”

Zero closed his eyes with an almost imperceptible nod.

 

***

 

Since Axl seemed adamant on Zero doing little more to exert himself than standing and stretching his legs, the blond decided to content himself with quiet observation.  The more time he spent there, the more he felt a sense of familiarity.  The memories were faint and fleeting, but the teasing smirk and the laughter in his eyes, the smarmy attitude and good humor- he _knew_ those mannerisms.

And he knew something was off.

For one, he noticed the way Axl moved with a stiffness uncharacteristic of his youthful demeanor.  “Are you injured?” Zero finally asked after hearing Axl’s sharp intake of breath as he stood up from a crouch.

“Nah.”  Axl laughed softly.  “Just an old prototype.  I don’t think this body could handle joining the Resistance.”

“The engineer there could fix you up,” Zero pointed out.  “Cerveau’s a good friend of mine.”

But Axl shook his head, still seeming as relaxed and cheery as ever.  “I’ll do more good on my own at this point.  I can slip in and out and keep a low profile so that no one knows whose side I’m on.  No one remembers my face, and I think it’s safer this way.”

“I remember,” Zero said.  “Maybe not specifics, but . . . it’s there.  I’m sure X does, too.”

Axl smiled slightly.

“Besides,” Zero added, “yours is a hard face to forget.”

Axl began to laugh - a warm, genuinely friendly sound not unlike the laugh of a young boy.  “Was that supposed to be a joke, a compliment, or an insult?”

Zero remained silent, keeping a perfectly straight face and causing Axl to shake his head tiredly.  “I’ve missed you, Zero.  You . . . you have no idea how lonely it’s been without you guys.”

Zero blinked at that.  Lonely?  Yes, he supposed he, himself, had felt a bit lonely since waking up.  He hadn’t really understood or questioned it up until then; he had simply acted.  Fought.  “You’ve been fighting lately?”

“Damn straight.  Can’t stop doing what I live for.”  Axl sat down against the wall and leaned back, closing his eyes and folding his hands behind his head.  “Besides, I’d get bored otherwise.”

Zero watched him with a steady, curious gaze, falling silent and allowing his mind to wander for a few moments.  He thought of the way Axl had taken out the Pantheons, the sharp crack of gunfire, the way the drones had been shot down so quickly and cleanly.  “Axl . . .”

_“You have no idea how lonely it’s been without you guys.”_

A sharp pang of sympathy struck his core, and he frowned, forehead creasing with concern.  It was no wonder Axl kept watching him with a small, sad smile; he knew Zero wouldn’t- _couldn_ ’ _t_ \- stay.  Not with a war raging on around them.

The memories were getting clearer.  Training, fighting, watching each other’s backs, protecting each other . . .

_“Why did you save me?”_

_“Duh.  You’re my best friend.”_

Zero . . . _missed_ having a best friend.

“Axl?” he prompted softly.

Axl didn’t answer with anything more than a quiet snore, having drifted into a light doze during the silence.  With the faintest trace of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, Zero picked up his gun and stepped outside.

He trained by himself for an hour or so- nothing strenuous, just light target practice and a few stretches to test how his shoulder was healing.  His body was far from being at full strength if his tired movements and the cracks in his armor were any indication, but even so, he hadn’t felt this recharged in months.  In more ways than one, no less.

The image of Axl’s pained smile was still burned into his mind, however, and it _hurt_.  Deep down, he didn’t _want_ to leave his old friend alone again.  He was enjoying Axl’s company and idle chatter.  And he was more than a little worried about the younger Reploid’s condition; his body was clearly in dire need of maintenance.

“Your aim’s gotten better, Zero.”

He turned his head to see Axl watching him from several feet away.  “Still can’t match mine though.”  Axl had a smarmier than usual smirk on his face as he approached his elder and held out his hand.  “Mind if I see that for a moment?”

Zero handed over the gun with a nod, and Axl examined it for a few moments before firing a single shot at the wall of the studio flat.  “Sight’s off by eight degrees.  C’mon.”

He went back inside, Zero trailing close behind, and took a small toolkit off of a shelf.  Zero watched quietly as Axl sat down in the middle of the floor and began to work on the gun with quick, deft fingers.  “Basic model,” he said without looking up.  “Simple fix, especially compared to mine.”

“You’re quite good at that,” Zero said, amazed by the effortless skill with which Axl made several adjustments to the weapon.  He and Cerveau would probably get along well, he realized.  “You collect guns?”

“Used to.”  Axl lifted the gun and closed one eye to check the sight.  “Back in the day.  Call it a hobby or call it an obsession, but I’ve never lost my love of guns.”

“There are some things no amount of time can change,” Zero murmured.

Axl smiled faintly and handed the weapon back to his friend.  “Should be good to go.  I centered the sight and evened out the rate of fire, among a couple other tweaks.”

“Thanks, Axl.  I owe you one.”

“It’s nothing.”  Axl looked away, and though Zero could no longer see his expression, there was no hiding the way his shoulders seemed to tense as if he was holding something back.  “We’re friends,” he added, his voice softening a note.  “You don’t owe me anything.”

Zero felt another twist of sympathy in the pit of his stomach, but he didn’t speak.

 

***

 

The sound of gunfire jerked Zero out of a light doze, and he scrambled into a sitting position, the sound of uneven footsteps alerting him to someone’s approach.  “Axl?” he called, visible concern crossing his features when the gunner stumbled inside with one hand clasped to a bleeding shoulder.

“Damn drones,” Axl panted.  “‘Fraid it’s not safe here any more, Zero.”

“Then it’s time I got back to work.”  Zero hopped to his feet and snatched up his gun and saber, rolling his shoulders a few times to loosen up.  “A week is more than enough rest; I’m slacking.”  He turned, fixing Axl with a serious gaze that left no room for argument- a look the gunner knew all too well from years past.  “I’ll draw them off.  Get out of here and get repaired.”

Axl stared at him for a few moments, opening his mouth as if to protest, before closing his eyes with that same pained, wavering smile.  “Y-yeah.  I understand.”  He drew a shaky breath, looking up to meet Zero’s gaze.  “Thanks.  I’m glad I got to see you.”

Zero nodded, already able to hear the soft rasp and clank of metal as the Pantheons marched closer.  “You’ll be all right on your own?” he said after a silence that seemed to stretch for an eternity.

“Don’t worry about me.”  Axl turned his back so that Zero couldn’t see the tears brimming in his eyes, the way his perpetual mask of good humor and optimism was finally beginning to crack.  “I’ll keep fighting until the last bit of energy leaves my core and my body collapses into rusty scrap.  Until then, I’ll always have your back, even if you don’t see me.  That’s a promise.”

For the first time since he’d woken up, Zero smiled- a true smile, not just a gleam in his eye or a twitch of his lips.  He reached out and clasped a hand to his friend’s shoulder, his blue eyes glowing with all the warmth and affection of a mentor watching their student succeed.  “X would be proud of you, Axl.  I know I am.”  He gave the gunner a thumbs-up, lingering there for just a few moments longer than he needed to before pulling his hand away.  “Take care of yourself, kid.”

“Yeah,” Axl whispered, turning to watch his elder dart off, back into combat, back into the seemingly endless war and danger and destruction.  “So long, Zero.  Thanks for everything.”  As he sprinted away in his own direction, he no longer fought against the tears welling in his optics, merely allowing them to slip freely down his cheeks and blur his vision.

_I’ll always have your back, even if you don’t see me._

_That’s a promise._


End file.
